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“I will never forget the moment I saw the sea of people watching, and waving at us.”

MINT Music Business Management (MBM) student, Diego Redoblado, recalled his experience last December 8. MINT College chose him along with other talented MINT students to perform on top of a green Cadillac float for McKinley Hill’s annual holiday tradition.

MINT College, in partnership with Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, was one of the participating institutions and companies at the “Grand Christmas Parade” this year at the Venice Grand Canal Mall, Taguig. The school had a 50s-inspired theme, dubbed “Rock-A-MINTy”. It paid homage to the decade’s classic Rock ‘N Roll.

Participating MINT students included MINT Riffs, the school’s official glee club; Sam Ayson, MINT resident crooner and OPM artist; and MINT’s in-house rock band composed of Diego Redoblado, Miguel Legaspi, Ryan Pineda, and Raymond Nicolas.

“I was always a big fan of the 50's and 60's [music], so the theme MINT did made me even appreciate it more,” Redoblado shared. Their band performed a “jailhouse rock” version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and his original composition  ‘84”.

For Miguel Legaspi, MINT Film student and band member, the best part of their whole experience was “making the audience smile” because of their music.

“The performance was really fun! MINT Riffs, Sam Ayson, and Diego Redoblado took turns performing, and [I] hadno idea whose turn it is at all. [In a way,] it’s a mystery performance which made it very exciting,” Legaspi said.

Different companies residing in McKinley Hill participated in the parade. The lineup included 12 floats, mascots of famous cartoons, and giant inflatables of familiar Christmas characters. Marching bands and dancers clad in Venetian costumes were also a spectacle for the audience. Hundreds of families filled each side of the road.

As the evening approached, the MINT Cadillac float turned into a moving concert stage. As performers hyped up the crowd, MINT also ‘invited’ a 50s icon to join them: Elvis, the “King of Rock ‘N Roll”. Tony Sawyer, an MBM sophomore, played the role.

“The best moment for me was when I went down and interacted with the crowd,” he shared. “I took pictures with parents and gave high fives to the little ones. I felt kind of famous,” he said jokingly.

Junior MBM student and MINT Riffs member, Franco Evangelista, said that the highlight of the night was the impromptu “MINT College!” chant that they did.“Feeling the togetherness with a group of people, some you may not know so well, yet you all ‘vibe’ the same and work to make something great, [it’s] something [that] I believe MINT is all about,” he said.

Lucky Ramis, MINT Riffs member and an MBM senior said, “People were taking videos of us, and cheering us on to wave back at them. It made me feel that they enjoyed our performance. I felt so proud chanting our school name ‘MINT College!’ That’s how I knew we really rocked the event.” W

Photos by Angel Pua, Igo Eusebio

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